Mail box



March 25, 1947. L. B. BRUELHEVIDE 8, 1

- MAIL Bdx' v Filed June 22, 1946 2' Sheets-Sheet 1 lA/VENTOR laws 6.Ema/1510s ATTORNEYJ 25, 1947. BRUELHElDE 2,418,010

- MAIL BOX Filed June 22, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORMEYG Patented Mar.25,1947

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Louis B. Bruelheide, Bcdford, OhioApplication June 22, 1946, Serial No. 678,565

The invention relates to a novel and improved mail box structure.

Most householders are familiar with that variety of mail box which issuspended on a front wall or door, or on some such suitable supportingmeans, with its rear face in planar contact with said wall or support.In such position, and with a, conventional top closure hingedlyconnected near the upper portion of the rear face, it is generallyimpossible to swing such closure upwardly and backwardly far enough togive complete vertical clearance above the box, since the supportinterferes with the backward swing of the closure. This is especiallytrue where the closure is equipped with a downturned portion overlyingsome of the front wall of the box, since, when the closure is swung asfar as possible upwardly and rearwardly, the said downturned portionextends outwardly at an angle above the open top of the box. Suchclosure accordingly can be swung only to a position somewhat short of avertical plane,

and elongated articles such as periodicals or newspapers must be bent orotherwise deformed when inserting them in the box. As indicated, this isparticularly true of mail boxes in which a por tion of the front Wall iscut away, and is covered by a downwardly extending closure portion.

In the past, therefore, the householder was confronted with the dilemmaof choosing between a box with a small top closure capable of beingswung backwardly to afford fair vertical clearance, but which did notpermit convenient access to the lower inner portions of the box, and abox with a large apron-like closure wherein the front wall was partiallycut away, and in which the apron closure could not be swung far enoughbackwardly so that it no longer obstructed vertical clearance.

An object of the invention is to provide a mail box having novel andimproved closure means whereby the interior of the box may be renderedfully accessible to any desired extent depending on immediate needs.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mail box havingclosure means adapted, when operated, to provide respectively a largerand a smaller aperture for more convenient insertion and removal ofarticles of mail of varying size, such closure means being furtheradapted to be swung back substantially'to the vertical plane of the rearwall of the box.

A further object is to provide two part closure means for a mail boxsuspendible on a wall, or

7 other backing support, said means being adapted to be swung upwardlyto fully open position while Claims. (01. 232-17) 2 not extendingfurther rearwardly than the plane of the rear wall of the box.

A further object is to provide two part closure 7 means operative incombination to fully open the top alone, or both the top and a part ofthe front wall of the box, as desired.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from a study of thefollowing specification, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a mail box equipped with closure meansembodying the present invention, the box being shown in fully openposition;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view similar to Fig. 1, but showingthe box partially closed;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the box fully closed;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a some: what modified embodiment ofthe invention;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-6 of Fig. 5.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 to 3, I showa mail box having the usual body or container portion Ill and front andtop closure elements H and I2 adapted, respectively, to completely closethe box, or to provide smaller or larger openingsas will. appear. Therear wall [3 of the box is attached to any suitable support inconventional manner. A substantial portion of the top of front wall 14is cut away, as best shown inFig. 1, to permit ready access to the.

box interior, or to allow the convenient insertion therein of relativelylarge pieces of mail. The open portion of wall M is normally closed bythe closure element ll heretofore referred to. This closure element isof apron-like construction, pivotally mounted on the opposed side wallsit of the box by pivots l5'spaced well forwardly from the back wall I3.The apron has two side flanges l8 bent rearwardly so as to provide asliding i-lt between the inner face of the flanges and the outersurfaces of walls Hi. The top edge 25! of apron l I is cut awaysufllciently sothat when the apron is swung from the closed position ofFigs. 2 and 3 to the fully open position of Fig. 1, the opposed ends ofsaid edge 20 just come to resting contact on the tops of side walls 16.r

[The top closure or lid 12 is hinged along the top edge of rear wall 13and may be swung from the fully open position of Figs. land 2 to thefully closed-position of Fig. 3 wherein its front flange 2| and two sideflanges 22 have a sliding fit, respectively, over apron II and sidewalls Hi.

It will now be apparent that the apron I I may contact with front flange2| of lid l2. As shown,

this is just short of a vertical position.

Fig. 4 shows how the structure of the apron I l and the side walls l6may be modified slightly to obtain the same result. Instead of cuttingaway the edge ,20 of the apron as at to permit it to be swung backwardlyto the position shown in Fig. 1, side walls l6 are cut away downwardlyand rearwardly, at therear portionof their upper edges to provideclearance spaces to .receive the edge 20' of the apron II. This permitsthe apron to swing to the same angular position as shown in Fig. 1. i

In this embodiment the clearance space-25 in the ide walls I6 may beexternally shielded-by tabs 26 which may be part of the rear wall andwhich extend forwardly to be secured atthe pivots 29.

The box shown in the various views may be formed practically entirelyfrom sheet metal, and preferably from aluminum or one of its a1- loys.The rear wall I3 is formed from one .blank,

and the front wall 14, the side walls I6, and the bottomwall 21 fromanother blank. This other blank is press formed or. stamped to box-likeshape, and the respective meeting edges of both blanks are lapped,inturned, and crimped in any suitable manner, for example as shown insectional view at 23 in Figs.- 5 and 6. The apron H and the lid I2 arelikewise preferably fabricated from metal sheet and are pivotallyattached in any suitable manner, for example as shown in the drawings.

What I claim is:

1. A mail box of the character described comprising an open topcontainer portion, and closure means therefor, said container having arear wall adapted for attachment to a support, and having side, frontand bottom walls, a portion of the upper end edge of the front wallbeing cut away to provide a frontal opening communicating with the topopening, said closure comprising apron means for closing the said frontopening and lid means for closing the said top opening, said apron meansand said lid means being swingably mounted on respectively independentpivots to provide vertical clearance above the top opening, and freeaccess to the box interior, the pivotal aXis for said apron meansintersecting the side walls in a vertical plane which is locatedforwardly of the mid point between thefront and rearwalls.

2. A mail box of the character described comprising an open topcontainer portion, and closure means therefor, said container having arear wall, adapted for attachment to a support, and having side, frontand bottom walls, a portion of the upper end edge of the front wallbeing cut-away to provide a'frontal opening communicating with the topopening, said closure comprising apron mean for closing the said frontopening and lid means for closing the said top opening, said lid meanbeing'pivotallyconnected along the-top 4 edge of said rear wall, andsaid apron being pivotally carried, on a pair of opposed, alignedpivots, one pivot near the top edge of each side wall forwardly of saidrear wall and in a plane at least half the distance from said rear wallto said front wall, whereby opening movement of said .lid affords freeaccess through said top opening and opening movement of said apronaffords free access both to said top opening and said front opening.

-3. A mail box of the character described comprising an open topcontainer portion, and closure means therefor, said container having arear wall adapted for attachment to a support, and

having side, front and bottom walls, a portion of the upper end edge ofthe front wall being cut away to provide a frontal opening communicatingwith the top opening, said closure comprising apron means for closingthe said front opening and lid means for closing the said top opening,said-apron having a front planar portion and a pair of rearwardlyextending wing flanges, one on each side edge of said planar portion andslidably embracing the upper ends of said box side walls, a pair ofopposed, aligned pivots, the common axis of said pivots being in aVertical plane located at least half the distance from said rear wall tosaid front wall, said pivots uniting said wing flanges and said sidewalls to permit upward and rearward swing of said apron, said lid beingpivotally connected along the upper edge of said rear wall to permitopening movement of said lid, wherebyopening movement of said lidaffords free vertical access to aid box, and upward and subsequentupward and rearward swing of said apron affords free frontal andvertical access to said box.

, 4. A mail box of the character described comprising an open topcontainer portion, and closure means therefor, said container having arear wall adapted for attachment to a support, and having side, frontand bottom walls, a portion of the upper end edge of the front wallbeing cut away to provide a frontal opening communicating with the topopening, said closure comprising apron means for closing the said frontopen ing and lid means for closing the said top opening, said apronhaving a front planar portion and a pair of rearwardly extending wingflanges, one on each side edge of said planar portion and slidablyembracing the upper ends of said box side walls, a pair of opposed,aligned pivots, uniting said wing flanges and said side walls to permitupward and rearward swing of said apron, said lid being pivotallyconnezted along the up per edge of said rear wall to permit openingmovement of said lid, whereby opening movement of said lid aifords freevertical access to said box, and upward and subsequent upward andrearward swing of said apron affords free frontal and vertical access tosaid box, a portion of the top edge of said apron being cut away topermit said apron to be swung rearwardly substantially to the plane ofthe said rear wall of said box.

5. A mail box of the character described comprising an open topcontainer portion, and closure means therefor, said container having arear wall adapted for attachment to a support, and having side, frontand bottom walls, a portion of the upper end edge of the front wallbeing prising apron means for closing the said front opening and lidmeans for closing the said top opening, said apron having a front planarportion and a pair of rearwardly extending wing flanges, one on eachside edge of said planar portion and slidably embracing the upper endsof said box side walls, a pair of opposed, aligned pivots, uniting saidwing flanges and said side walls to permit upward and rearward swing ofsaid apron, said lid being pivotally connected along the upper edge ofsaid rear Wall to permit opening movement of said lid, whereby openingmovement of said lid afiords free vertical access to said box, andupward and subsequent upward and rearward swing of said apron affordsfree frontal and vertical access to said box, a portion REFERENCE SCITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,808,235 Lang Jun 2, 1931

